1. Holy fear looks upon sin as an evil much greater then any suffering: suffering is opposite to the Creature, but sin is opposite to the infinite God; it is a Rebellion to his Sovereignty, a contradiction to his Holiness, a provocation to his Justice; an ⟨p. 94⟩abuse to his Grace; a stain cast, as much as in us, lies, upon his Glory; nay, as the Schools speak, it is a kind of Deicidium, it strikes in a sort at the very life and being of God; it wishes, that there were none at all; and, if it could effect it, there should be none: Suffering doth not make a man worse then he was before, but sin doth it: Those Saints that were destitute, afflicted, tormented, wandering in Deserts, and Mountains, and Dens and Caves of the Earth, were yet such excellent ones, that the World was not worthy of them, Hebr. 11.37, 38. On the other hand, Antiochus Ephiphanes (who was, as his name imports, illustrious and glorious in the World) was yet but a vile person, and was made such by his wickedness. Suffering strikes at the estate or body of man, but sin strikes at his Soul, a thing more precious then a World; nay, and at the Divine Image there, which is more worth then the Soul it self: It doth, where it can prevail, turn men into Beasts in its sensual lusts, or into Devils in its spiritual Wickednesses: Suffering may have good, nay great good in it, but sin is evil, only evil; tis called by St. James [Greek or Hebrew], the superfluity or excrement of all evil, Jam. 1.21. It contains all evils in it; and if all evils (saith a worthy Divine) were to have a scum or excrement, ⟨p. 95⟩crement, sin is it, as being the abstracted quintessence of all evil, and having nothing at all of good in it. Sin, saith Bradwardine, is a thing not to be done, pro quantiscunque bonis lucrandis, aut pro quantiscunque malis praecavendis; for the gaining never so great a good, or for the avoiding never so great an evil. He that hath this holy Fear in his heart, will choose suffering as the lesser evil, rather then sin, which is much the greater. When Antitiochus Epiphanes brought forth Wheels, Rods, Hooks, Rakes, Racks, Caudrons,1 Cages, Gridirons, Gantlets, Awls, Bellows, Brazen Pots, and Frying-pans, before Salamona & here seven sons to terrify them, they could not be induced by all his tormenting Engines to trespass so far as to eat of a little sacrificed Swines-flesh, to save themselves from a cruel death.
1. Holy fear looks upon sin as an evil much greater then any suffering: suffering is opposite to the Creature, but sin is opposite to the infinite God; it is a Rebellion to his Soveraignty, a contradiction to his Holiness, a provocation to his Justice; an ⟨p. 94⟩abuse to his Grace; a stain cast, as much as in us, lies, upon his Glory; nay, as the Schools speak, it is a kind of Deicidium, it strikes in a sort at the very life and being of God; it wishes, that there were none at all; and, if it could effect it, there should be none: Suffering doth not make a man worse then he was before, but sin doth it: Those Saints that were destitute, afflicted, tormented, wandring in Deserts, and Mountains, and Dens and Caves of the Earth, were yet such excellent ones, that the World was not worthy of them, Hebr. 11.37, 38. On the other hand, Antiochus Ephiphanes (who was, as his name imports, illustrious and glorious in the World) was yet but a vile person, and was made such by his wickedness. Suffering strikes at the estate or body of man, but sin strikes at his Soul, a thing more pretious then a World; nay, and at the Divine Image there, which is more worth then the Soul it self: It doth, where it can prevail, turn men into Beasts in its sensual lusts, or into Devils in its spiritual Wickednesses: Suffering may have good, nay great good in it, but sin is evil, only evil; tis called by St. James 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, the superfluity or excrement of all evil, Jam. 1.21. It contains all evils in it; and if all evils (saith a worthy Divine) were to have a scum or excrement, ⟨p. 95⟩crement, sin is it, as being the abstracted quintessence of all evil, and having nothing at all of good in it. Sin, saith Bradwardine, is a thing not to be done, pro quantiscunque bonis lucrandis, aut pro quantiscunque malis praecavendis; for the gaining never so great a good, or for the avoiding never so great an evil. He that hath this holy Fear in his heart, will chuse suffering as the lesser evil, rather then sin, which is much the greater. When Antitiochus Epiphanes brought forth Wheels, Rodds, Hooks, Rakes, Racks, Caudrons,1 Cages, Gridirons, Gantlets, Awles, Bellows, Brasen Pots, and Frying-pans, before Salamona & here seven sons to terrify them, they could not be induced by all his tormenting Engines to trespass so far as to eat of a little sacrificed Swines-flesh, to save themselves from a cruel death.
- 1Joseph. Ant.
